Letter from Robert Grant to James Ford Rhodes, 22 March 1912

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noon when he arrived at my house. Of course the
Columbus speech
had sent the Country into convulsions and everyone was on tip toe
to know what his answer was to be, though it was generally as-
sumed that Barkis was willing. My
house had suddenly become the
storm centre of the country, not altogether to my
relish, fond as I
am of Theodore. All Sunday morning
the telephone was kept very
busy by newspapers and people who wished to communicate with him,
and a small army of reporters was established close to the spot
where the new Cardinal’s triumphal arch had lately stood. But
when T. R. arrived at 3.20 he said
that he would not see anyone
until 5.30 and that he wished to tell my wife and me "all about
it."

Whereupon he sat down in our library and talked to us for
over two hours, broken only by a short visit from Benjamin Ide
Wheeler of the
University of California, who told him in my
pres-
ence that he regarded the Columbus speech as moderate and that
California had a law recalling judges in force which no one had
yet attempted to utilize. Richard H. Dana also came in at tea
time, having telephoned for permission to do so. During the
lat-
ter’s visit Theodore told us
about the foreign Kings etc., which
was new to Dana and Mrs.
Grant, but he did not touch on politics.
The rest of the time he talked with great freedom, as you will
see. At six he had a short interview with all the reporters down
stairs and dismissed them for the night. He had previously told
us, shortly after his arrival, that he had invited some political
friends, - four or five he said – to come to the house to confer
with him on the morrow (Monday) and asked my wife if she had